AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK
The northern part of Akagera National Park is made of low-lying grasslands and savannah plains, similar in feel to the ‘traditional’ wild game areas of Eastern Africa. On the west side of the park, are hills and valleys similar to the typical Rwandan countryside while to the east, the Akagera River from which the Park derives its name feeds into a series of lakes, wetlands, and papyrus swamps that constitute central and eastern Africa’s largest protected marsh area/swamp. Despite the small area to explore, a safari to Akagera National Park can offer diverse species because of the variety of habitats, wildlife and birds, and some extraordinary scenery.

Akagera National Park has had a recent past that has not been good, with refugees from Rwanda’s Genocide returning to settle in the area in the late 1990s, reducing the size and destroying the environment through grazing, agriculture, and poaching. The government reduced the park by half, which allowed new residents, and the rest of the park has been protected and brought back to its former glory.

Akagera National Park is managed together with African Parks, a conservation organization that is helping to bring back the park to life. They have set boundaries and a perimeter fence, alongside anti-poaching measures and these have helped to make a big difference in the population of animals at the park and the restoration process is now visible. There have been a lot of reintroductions at the park, in 2015 lions were brought from South Africa and also Rhinos. This has seen the park get back to the Big 5 status because it now houses the Lions, Leopards, Buffaloes, Elephants, and Rhinos which are the original Big 5. The wildlife and safaris at Akagera are not at the same scale as the other know parks of East Africa like Kidepo Valley National Park in Uganda or The Serengeti in Tanzania, Akagera national park has plenty to see and all this is set in the beautiful scenery.

Safaris to Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park is a perfect 2-3-hour drive from Kigali on a smooth road and can be toured on a day trip if you’re short of time or your logistics offer you limited time. The game densities at the park are however not massively high, but the park is pretty and can be pleasant for visitors that would want to have a couple of days here. There is much to explore. The Kiyonza Gate in the south is the major entry to Akagera National Park. This is close to the Park Headquarters and Akagera’s best lodge.
You can Akagera on a primate safari to Rwanda to get the mix of forest and savanna species (Gorillas at Volcanoes National Park and Chimpanzees at Nyungwe Forest National Park)

Activities at Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park is one of East Africa’s parks with a very improved road/track network after their partnership with African Park. These allow varied game drives around the park, to the hills for amazing views of the park, to the lakes, and around the plains. Drives usually are done during the mornings and evenings because these are the best times for a full day that venture to the northern part of the park. There is also an option for night game drives to spot the nocturnals of Akagera or the big cats active at Night.
Akagera National Park has the second largest lake in Rwanda- Lake Ihema. It is here that boat trips take place and these yield some great sightings of aquatic birds. Visitors that would also love sport fishing can visit Lake Shakani.
The recent development at the park is balloon safari experiences that are offered by Royal Balloons. These offer a chance to view the park and its life from above (bird’s eye view).

Wildlife at Akagera National Park
After the partnership with Africa Park wildlife at Akagera has increased significantly and there is an estimated count of about 8,000 large mammals. These numbers have been impacted positively by the perimeter fence that was completed in 2013 and also the low numbers of predators. This has made spotting the other mammals easy while here. But the lion, leopard, & Rhinos can be hard to get. As long as you don’t raise your expectation while here, Akagera National Park won’t disappoint.

In the year 2015, seven lions were brought from Southern Africa to the park, these became the first lions after 15 years to glide in the plains of Akagera. The management has been extremely good at monitoring these lions and since the reintroduction, the pride has been growing year in and year out. In 2017, 18 eastern black rhinos were brought to the park and the park is once again a “Big 5” destination again. And last year the park received its first wild black rhino. In 2021, the park received 30 southern white rhinos from Phinda Game Reserve in Southern Africa.
These are part of the common savanna plains species that include the Impalas and Topis these are dominant, the eland, oribi, the Masai Giraffes, waterbucks, bushbucks, reedbucks, roan antelopes, sable, Burchell’s zebras, buffaloes, hippos, and the elephants.

Birds of Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park is one of Rwanda’s key birding spots, it hosts over 480 species attracted to the diverse habitat here. Savannah bird species and raptors are prevalent and other several endemic species like the red-faced barbet are often sighted here.

Visitors can engage in the short boat trips that are available on the lakes at Akagera and this gives the chance to sight the aquatic/water birds like the African Fish Eagles, marabou storks, grey crowned cranes, African Open-billed storks, cormorants, herons, and egrets. If it is your lucky day you can sight the elusive and prehistoric shoebill bird.

Safari camps and lodges at Akagera National Park
At present, there are several options for accommodation at Akagera National Park aside from camping. The Ruzizi Tented Lodge was opened in 2013 and is close to the main gate and has views and is on the banks of Lake Ihema that was opened in 2013 and is close to the main gate to the south and is managed by Africa Parks. The other is Akagera Game Lodge, which has been restored after years out of operation. It is managed by Mantis Resorts which took it over in 2018.
The Magashi Camp in the northern sector was opened in 2018. Other include Akagera Rhino Lodge, Karenge Bush Camp, and then the Mutumba, Muyumba, and Shakani Campsites. All these are inside the park. Outside the park are Akagera Transit Lodge, and Dereva Hotel.